A Link between Handgrip Strength and Executive Functioning: A Cross-Sectional Study in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Controls

Abstract

Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who in addition to their memory deficits also suffer from frontal-executive dysfunctions have a higher risk of developing dementia later in their lives than older adults with aMCI without executive deficits and older adults with non-amnestic MCI (naMCI). Handgrip strength (HGS) is also correlated with the risk of cognitive decline in the elderly. Hence, the current study aimed to investigate the associations between HGS and executive functioning in individuals with aMCI, naMCI and healthy controls. Older, right-handed adults with amnestic MCI (aMCI), non-amnestic MCI (naMCI), and healthy controls (HC) conducted a handgrip strength measurement via a handheld dynamometer. Executive functions were assessed with the Trail Making Test (TMT A&B). Normalized handgrip strength (nHGS, normalized to Body Mass Index (BMI)) was calculated and its associations with executive functions (operationalized through z-scores of TMT B/A ratio) were investigated through partial correlation analyses (i.e., accounting for age, sex, and severity of depressive symptoms). A positive and low-to-moderate correlation between right nHGS (rp (22) = 0.364; p = 0.063) and left nHGS (rp (22) = 0.420; p = 0.037) and executive functioning in older adults with aMCI but not in naMCI or HC was observed. Our results suggest that higher levels of nHGS are linked to better executive functioning in aMCI but not naMCI and HC. This relationship is perhaps driven by alterations in the integrity of the hippocampal-prefrontal network occurring in older adults with aMCI. Further research is needed to provide empirical evidence for this assumption.

The Relationship between Handgrip Strength, Timed Up-and-Go, and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older People during COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions

“…HGS could be one of the indicators for cognitive impairment. HGS was found to be associated with cognition especially in executive function tasks [55][56][57]. Our study found that the association between cognitive function and TUG was consistent with previous studies [58][59][60].…”

Bridging Reduced Grip Strength and Altered Executive Function: Specific Brain White Matter Structural Changes in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Stronger grip strength in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was related to better executive function, possibly due to changes in the hippocampus-prefrontal network integrity. 28 This study found that AD-LGS patients had extensive micro-and macrostructural changes in WM fiber tracts, accompanied by extensive cognitive decline, suggesting that changes in specific WM fiber pathways in AD patients may link cognitive decline and reduced grip strength. AD is characterized by large-scale brain network dysfunction associated with Aβ deposition, neurofibrillary tangles, cortical atrophy, and functional disconnection between cortical areas.…”

Physio-cognitive decline syndrome among middle-aged diabetes patients: Handgrip strength significantly correlates with glycaemic control and cognitive score

“…However, their glycaemic status was unknown [ 44 ]. On the other hand, Herold et al (2022) [ 45 ] found that HGS may be associated with executive functioning, especially in amnestic type MCI, possibly due to neural connectivity in addition to differences in prefrontal cortex hemodynamic and frontal cortical thinning [ 45 ].…”